Flexible watch band



Patented Jan. 13, 1948 UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLEXIBLE WATCH BAND Allen Benjamin, Chicago, Ill. Application May 7, 1947, Serial No. 746,467

2 claims. (c1. 63-11') This invention relates to flexible watch bands and more particularly to the ornamentation of flexible bands of the coiled spring type.

Bands of the coil spring type have heretofore been employed for supporting wrist watch and the like but have been used without ornamentation other than a uniform surface nish such as plating. If it is attempted to ornament a band of this type by decorating the strip of Wire prior to Winding, diiculty is encountered in obtaining proper registration of the decoration on the strip so that only uniform overall patterns are visible. If it is attempted to decorate the band after ceiling, difficulty is encountered in holding the strip or wire so that it can properly be cut or ground to form the desired pattern.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a flexible watch band in which the surface of the band is decorated by forming recesses or cuts therein in any desired pattern after the strip or wire is coiled. Preferably the pattern is in the form of elongated grooves crossing the convolutions of the wire or strip.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a watch band embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 illustrating a. diierent pattern;

Figure 3 is an enlarged section on the line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a partial perspective of a band with the iiller strip in place;

Figure 5 is a perspective View illustrating one manner of holding the bands and filler strip during grinding; and

Figure 6 is a partial section illustrating an alternative manner of holding the band and filler strip during grinding.

The bands of the present invention are adapted to be formed of elongated strips of resilient material such as a round spring wire wound into a at coil and carrying ttings at the ends forv attachment to a wrist Watch or the like. As shown in Figure 1 the band comprises a at coil IU formed of round spring wire carrying fittings II at its opposite ends. Bands of this type have heretofore been used without surface decoration other than surface nishing such as plating the wire either before or after its coiling.

According to the present invention, the band is ornamented to improve its appearance without detracting from its effectiveness by forming in its outer surfaces recesses according to an ornamental pattern.

As shown in Figure 1, the recesses are in the form of elongated grooves I2 extending generally diagonally across the band so that each of the grooves extends across a plurality of convolutions of the coil. Figure 2 shows a similar construction except that the grooves I3 therein extend parallel to the length of the band. Many other desired ornamental patterns could be formed by cutting or grinding the surface of the coil to present an attractive appearance. It will be noted thatin the completed band the lines between the adjacent convolutions of the coil are visible to form a part of the pattern and that the appear- Aance is enhanced by grooves or like recesses crossing the lines between the adjacent convolutions.

As best seen in Figure 3, the band is formed by a round wire I4 and the grooves I3 extend only partially through the wire. In this way the strength of the wire is substantially unalected so that it can function in the usual manner in the completed band.

In forming bands according to the present invention the plain wire is iirst formed into a at coil with the. convolutions in Contact with each other as shown in Figure 4. The coil may be formed in a continuous length and may be cut to the proper length after being ornamented but is preferably cut into individual lengths prior to the ornamenting operation. After'` the coil has been wound a filler strip I5 of rigid material preferably metal is inserted in the coil. The filler strip is of such a size and shape that it will substantially iill the coil so that when it is inserted the adjacent convolutions of the coil will be rmly supported. As seen in Figure 5, a plurality of coils each of the proper length to form one band may be inserted on a single iiller strip I5.

With the filler strip in place, the coils can be clamped or otherwise secured and the outer surface of the coil can be cut or ground to produce the desired pattern therein. As shown in Figure 5 the coils and filler strip may be held between clamping jaws I6 formed with V-shaped grooves to receive the edges of the coils. When the jaws are brought together to grip the coils, the coils will be rmly held and will be accurately located between V-shaped grooves. At the same time the coils will not be deected or damaged because they are supported by the filler strip I5. With the coils and ller strip firmly heldin place, the surface of the coils may be cut by means of cutting or grinding wheels II driven by a shaft I8. With the cutting or grinding wheels located at the proper height, the clamp may be moved under the wheels in the direction of the arrow i9 so that the wheels will simultaneously cut grooves such as i3 in the upper surfaces of the coils. A single pass will ordinarily be sufllcient to complete the cutting or grinding operation although for patterns involving grooves lying at angles to each other multiple operations may be necessary.

Upon completion of the cutting or grinding operation the coils may be removed from the ller strip and after attachment of the end fittings Il they are ready for use.

Instead of holding the coils and filler strip in a clamp as shown in Figure 5, they may be held I magnetically, as illustrated in Figure 6. In this case the filler strip l5 must be made of magnetic material such as iron or steel.' The coils with the illler strip in place are laid on the flat surface of a magnetic chuck 2l having a winding 22 thereon. When the winding is energized. the coils and filler strip will be held rmly on the chuck surface by magnetic attraction and thc upper surface of the coils may be cut or ground by a cutting or grinding whee123. Upon completion of the cutting or grinding operation, the winding 22 is deenergized so that the coils and filler strip can be removed from the magnetic chuck 2|. Upon removal of the filler strip from the coils and attachment of the end tting i I, the bands are completed.

While the invention has been particularly described in connection with watch bands. it will be apparent that it is equally applicable to bands of other types such as bracelets and the like and also that modifications in the specific methods defined for forming the band could be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Reference will, therefore, be had to the appended claims to determined the scope of the invention.

What ,is claimed is:

1. A flexible watch band comprising an elongated resilient metal strip of substantially equal width and thickness in cross section wound into a at coil. adjacent convolutions of the strip at one fiat surface of the coil being formed with registering recesses each of which extends completely across the exposed surface of a convolution to provide ornamental grooves extending along said fiat surface of the coil.

2. A exible 'watch band comprising an elongated resilient round wire wound into a fiat coil, each turn of the wire at one of the at surfaces of the coil being recessed completely across the exposed surface of the turn of wire with the recesses in'adjacent turns in register to form elongated grooves extending along said fiat surface of the coil.

ALLEN BENJAMIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of recordin the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Jan. 25, 1926 Number ,Number 

